A downspout is used to convey water from a rain gutter secured alongside the roof of a building to the ground level. Conventionally, the downspout communicates with a drain opening of the gutter and is positioned alongside the wall of the building. The downspout is clamped along its length against the building wall by metal straps wrapped about the downspout and nailed at their ends to the building wall.
Another proposal used for the purpose of installing downspouts is to provide a hook section for engaging the downspout about its circumference, the hook section having outwardly extending ears adapted to rest against the building wall. The ears are provided with openings for the passage of fastening elements, nails, etc. or spikes are driven through the ears into the building wall. However, the fastening elements are required to be driven in a horizontal direction closely proximate to the downspout, exposing the downspout to damage in the course of installation.
The prior art includes one-piece anchors comprising a preformed hook section engagable with the downspout and a preformed spike section coplanar and welded together with an arm of the hook section joined by the weld to the spike section. The longitudinal axes of the hook and spike sections are parallel with the spike section offset from the hook section. The weld juncture is weak and subject to fracture when the spike section is driven into the building wall.
Instead of welding the hook and spike sections together, an anchor has been formed of a single length of rod which is formed into hook and spike sections by bending and shaping in a die. This process is time consuming and expensive. This type of anchor must be formed of a strong material such as steel and should have the same thickness overall, such dimension being needed to supply the strength necessary to withstand the force required to enable its "spike" end to be driven into the building wall. In recent years there has been a trend toward increasing use of lighter weight materials for forming the downspouts. This trend has advanced also due to the desire to avoid materials prone to corrosion. Among the lighter weight materials which have gained acceptance for forming the downspouts are aluminum, copper and plastic, such as PVC. Esthetics also are a factor in the customer's selection of downspouts of differing colors and texture. Use of the heavier anchor product leads to damage of the downspout during the installation thereof as well as the deterioration of the corrosion prone anchor over time. Therefore, it would be highly desirable if one were to utilize downspout anchors having their downspout embracing sections formed of a material lighter and/or dissimilar and corrosion resistant for both the downspout and the anchoring (or spike) sections. With such expedient, one would like to be able to use much thinner hook sections while retaining a heavier spike section. As mentioned above, present downspout anchors, when formed of two pieces, experience difficulties in joining the two pieces while retaining strength required for installation.
Another difficulty arose when the downspout is formed of aluminum. Using steel anchors to support aluminum downspouts does not avoid rust development marring the appearance of the installation. Other materials, such as copper, have gained popularity for use as downspouts. The use of dissimilar metals for forming the downspout anchors, i.e. the hook sections formed of a metal other than steel and the spike sections form of steel, required two piece units which were required to be permanently secured together. Welding as a method of securement was not feasible since the dissimilar metals could not be welded together. Joining of such sections of dissimilar materials as a unit has not produced a unit which was strong enough to withstand fracture at the juncture. The desires of the customer to have hook sections of materials other than steel could not be fulfilled.